Leading bank messes up! Unwittingly uses offensive language to Thai speaking foreign customer

 

Thai caption: This really happened?! 

 

A call center employee didn't realize that a foreign customer was on the line.

 

And that he was perfectly able to speak and understand Thai. 

 

While the customer was listening they referred to his request to want to speak in English as "seuak" in Thai.

 

This is a largely offensive term that means to butt in or interrupt. It carries the force in English of butting in in an unwanted manner. Hardly a term that should be used to a legitimate request from a valued customer. 

 

The Thai media said that online comment among Thais on the issue was rife. The media that reported the story - Daily News - would not even write the word in their headline or body of their report. 

 

Rather like writing “S*IT” or “F*CK” they wrote เ-ือก or “*euak”

 

The customer explained on Pantip that they had contacted the bank's call center. They could converse in Thai after living and doing business in Thailand for more than ten years but after the bank asked for a Thai ID number to be keyed in they decided to opt for English. 

 

This led to the customer being transferred and the offensive term being used when a staff member did not realize they were listening in on the line. 

 

The bank contacted the foreigner to apologize and said that the employee had been sacked. 

 

The foreigner said that was not necessary, far better just to train them properly so it didn't happen again.

 

The bank was not named in the story. 

 

Thaivisa notes that this is often the case due to Thailand's strict defamation laws. 

 

Source: Daily News

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-12-04

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Well, I hate it when they call me farang. I tell them in Thai that I actually have a name. The look on their face!

These pesky blaady foreigners again not understanding thai ways...........

Bank staff at my branch are clueless other than deposit and withdraw. Even a request to go in and change the ATM card which all customers got was met with mai khao jai looks and the need for a supervisor, bank letter requests get met with similar head scratching, even when I show them a copy of one. They all act like it's their first week on the job, thankfully the manager is a young guy who speaks English and knows what he's on about. Sacking in this case was too harsh, they need proper training not sacking.

4 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Sacking in this case was too harsh, they need proper training not sacking.

The chance that anyone was actually sacked is extremely low.

44 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

Well, I hate it when they call me farang. I tell them in Thai that I actually have a name. The look on their face!

I just call them pineapple when farang is used to me.

46 minutes ago, webfact said:

a valued customer.

Only if you have Billions in the bank,otherwise its sod off don't bother us,

regards worgeordie

7 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Bank staff at my branch are clueless other than deposit and withdraw. Even a request to go in and change the ATM card which all customers got was met with mai khao jai looks and the need for a supervisor, bank letter requests get met with similar head scratching, even when I show them a copy of one. They all act like it's their first week on the job, thankfully the manager is a young guy who speaks English and knows what he's on about. Sacking in this case was too harsh, they need proper training not sacking.

 

after venturing into various branches of my bank i eventually found one with a member of staff who could not only understand english but also apply a certain amount of logic an common sense to resolving issues and problems. but... when she wants to look at my accounts on her computer screen she has to call the manager out of her office to type in a password, it's bizarre. i dont know how the manager can get any work done being disturbed every few minutes to type in passwords...

1 hour ago, Somtamnication said:

Well, I hate it when they call me farang. I tell them in Thai that I actually have a name. The look on their face!

I have said before, "No, I'm not a piece of fruit."

 

Going into my branch here and trying to achieve something simple is like pulling teeth. I dread it.

My bank manager comes to my home, when i need to do bank business.

Must be my magnetic personality, charm and being a handsome man.

What I find deliciously ironic, is if a foreigner in the West was treated similar, then some posters here would be complaining about the foreigner not being able to speak English.... just saying ???? 

I have been with Siam Commercial Bank since 2001. EVERY person that I have had interaction with at a branch or on the phone could not have been handled better. 

Let the children have their kicks...

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

I have said before, "No, I'm not a piece of fruit."

 

Im with you fellow guava !!

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

I just call them pineapple when farang is used to me.

 Calling them Chinese is more funny. 

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

2 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

Well, I hate it when they call me farang. I tell them in Thai that I actually have a name. The look on their face!

I have said before, "No, I'm not a piece of fruit."

Ironically, "old fruit" is still a very affectionate way of addressing someone back in Blighty. 

2 hours ago, overherebc said:

I just call them pineapple when farang is used to me.

I like Peanut, which to them sounds like Pee Nat

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

2 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

Well, I hate it when they call me farang. I tell them in Thai that I actually have a name. The look on their face!

I have said before, "No, I'm not a piece of fruit."

all one needs, is to wear the right shirt... and keep pointing to it

 

 p.s. wearing a Jack Russell TShirt made things worse...  been wearing same for years...

 

started off first trying to train the niece,

but quickly realise an attention span is a prerequisite.  

 

but the common path, was to always intro myself, as Luss

 

L&R&R&L headaches... 

 

 

 

 

The words "you <deleted> idiot" was uttered by myself hundreds of times on my drive to and from Bangkok in the last 2 days!I'm pretty sure the Thai version was uttered just as many times by other drivers in regards to my driving manoeuvres.

2 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

Well, I hate it when they call me farang. I tell them in Thai that I actually have a name. The look on their face!

I had a plummer at the house. Nice guy. But he insisted on calling me "Nai Farang" or "Mr Foreigner." That did annoy me. He puts it into every sentence. 

1 hour ago, Denim said:

I don't like it when they refer to me as ' he ' because I'm not sure if they are lapsing into Thai.

Yes, I hear ya. ????

1.  Don't be as hypersensitive as some Thais. 

2. Some times I call my self “falang“ with a smile

3. I use to go to 2 branches of 2 different banks and mainly they say hello by my name : khun + nick name

12 minutes ago, deesquared said:

I had a plummer at the house. Nice guy. But he insisted on calling me "Nai Farang" or "Mr Foreigner." That did annoy me. He puts it into every sentence. 

Got a friend who speaks good Thai and in a meeting one day one of the Thai Managers was being quite rude about him to another manager not knowing he could understand.

He answered him in English by saying  I sat ( short pause ) here and listened to your explanation and I don't really agree with you.  The guy really couldn't decide if he had been insulted or not.

 

2 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

after venturing into various branches of my bank i eventually found one with a member of staff who could not only understand english but also apply a certain amount of logic an common sense to resolving issues and problems. but... when she wants to look at my accounts on her computer screen she has to call the manager out of her office to type in a password, it's bizarre. i dont know how the manager can get any work done being disturbed every few minutes to type in passwords...

That is possibly all the manager does!

4 minutes ago, JAG said:

2 hours ago, samsensam said:

after venturing into various branches of my bank i eventually found one with a member of staff who could not only understand english but also apply a certain amount of logic an common sense to resolving issues and problems. but... when she wants to look at my accounts on her computer screen she has to call the manager out of her office to type in a password, it's bizarre. i dont know how the manager can get any work done being disturbed every few minutes to type in passwords...

That is possibly all the manager does!

I have a piece of software that remembers my passwords. It's also called the password manager.

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

My bank manager comes to my home, when i need to do bank business.

Must be my magnetic personality, charm and being a handsome man.

Same here she is a stunner and has an official driver to get her to my house. A good bank manger from Bangkok bank.

49 minutes ago, deesquared said:

I had a plummer at the house. Nice guy. But he insisted on calling me "Nai Farang" or "Mr Foreigner." That did annoy me. He puts it into every sentence. 

Plummer?

 

Are you continuing the analogy regarding fruit?

 

Rooster

3 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

Well, I hate it when they call me farang. I tell them in Thai that I actually have a name. The look on their face!

If they call me farang,i call them Chinese.

When they say "we are not Chinese but Thai, i say " i dont care , i call everyone with a small nose Chinese. same same farang.

 

3 hours ago, petermik said:

These pesky blaady foreigners again not understanding thai ways...........

Correction:   Traditional Thai culture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!